A Father's Wishes....

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A little change of pace today from the celebrity posts. Not to worry, I have a ton of stories yet to publish regarding well known people I've run into over the years.




As many of you know, I am the father of four daughters. 26 year old Ashley, and 19 year old TRIPLETS Alexandra, Taylor, and Jamie. To say raising them has been interesting is the understatement of the year. All good kids...but quite the handful for my wife Terri and me. And I'm proud to say I still have my hair! Admittedly it is turning a nice shade of sandy blond but I can blame that on the sun from golf.




My daughter Alexandra is currently writing a short bio regarding her experiences being a cancer survivor, and she added a letter I wrote to all of them as they entered high school titled " A Father's Wishes". I thought I would share it with you:

A FATHER'S WISHES

As you enter high school and become young ladies, here are my wishes for your lives:

Enjoy a relationship with God and talk to him often. He will help you get through whatever difficult times may lay ahead. Even though I’m not a devout church goer, I pray everyday for strength and guidance.

Maximize your educational experience by studying and working hard, getting involved in as many school activities as you can. I know school can be boring, but education can be essential to financial success and becoming a worldly and well rounded individual. Its not always the hard and fast rule (your mom is one of the greatest people I ever met and she didn’t go to college, but I’m sure she wishes she did)...but you can be ANYTHING you want to be, so start setting those goals now.


Enjoy sports. Its not always about being a star, sometimes it is great fun just to be a part of a team and enjoy new relationships, I think all three of you have the potential to shine in whatever sport you pick, but it takes WORK to stand out above others. I hope you choose to do that. As hard as it was for me to make a professional football team, I don’t remember the work. I just remember the good times and achievements.


Trust your conscience, it will tell you if something is right or wrong. Peer pressure can be one of the biggest challenges you will ever face. It takes a strong person to make the right choices, and even though I don’t expect you to be perfect, I expect you to have the strength to do the right thing.


Appreciate your health and work on keeping fit and strong. All the money in the world will not matter if you are not healthy enough to enjoy it.


Communicate with your Mom and Dad. We care for you more than anyone will ever care for you in your lives. And even though you may get on each others nerves, stick together as sisters. Your relationship with each other will last all your lives.


So that’s it. As I was looking at you blossom into beautiful young ladies this weekend, I just figured it was time to write this all down......I love you all to the depths of my existence, and wish you the very best life has to offer.

Love, Dad